Can anyone help with my camera issues?

[DisneyJen0504]

Hi everyone,
Here is the issue. I have a Canon A95 that DH bought for me early last year. I can't say I love it but I will have to wait a little longer to get a new digital cam. This is the problem I am having. It takes wonderful pictures outdoors during the day. But if I try to take pics at indoors or at night, the pictures are mediocre to bad! Without the flash causes the pics to be dark, grainy or unclear, and with the flash makes everything look like there is a spotlight on it and the background of the photo disappears.
Here is an example...
This pic taken on a family cruise is with the flash. The background disappears but the people are clear and bright.

My issue with this is that if I wanted a picture of DH, my brother and dad standing in front of nothing I wouldn't waste my time taking a cruise.

Now here is basically the same picture taken minutes later in which I decided to turn the flash off to see how it would come out.

Notice it is the same place/background that the first picture was taken in front of-now you can see it. Except the people in the picture are dark and less clear.

A final example is the problem with outdoor nighttime pictures. Here is a picture of me in front of the beach in the Caribbean. The sky is beautiful. With the flash on the sky disappears and there is just a spotlight on me and nothing else. Here is with the flash off.

The sky is there-but I disappeared. Nighttime option makes the pics a little blurry.

I have tried playing with the settings and options. Night vision makes the pics a little blurry.
So, anyone think there is a solution to my camera problems. I am hoping it is operator error!

 

[JR6ooo4]

Shooting Modes Auto

Creative zone: Program, Shutter-speed priority, Aperture priority, Manual, Custom
Image zone: Portrait, Landscape, Night scene, Fast shutter, Slow shutter, Special Scene (Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater, Indoor, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot), Stitch assist and Movie

One of these two modes is what you want.
The flash will fire to light the foreground and the shutter hangs open longer to exposet the background.
It is best if the subjects are cooperating and will hold still for the longer shutter.
Give it a try and let me know how it works.

Mikeeee

 

[Anewman]

Welcome to the world of photography.

It is not a "camera problem" nor is it "operator error."

Remember if the background is 100 feet away and the subject(family) is 10 feet away, it is obvious that the flash could not illuminate them both evenly.

IF you want the background exposed properly you must set exposure settings for the background(since it is farther and out of flashes range), and then fill in the persons standing in front of it with the flash.

If I lost you try this next time.
1. take a picture of the background in question(no family yet).
2. Read the settings that the camera took those pictures with(shutter/aperture/ISO).
3. switch camera to Manual mode and apply those settings.
4. Now pop up the flash and move your family in, TAKE THE PICTURE.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

Shooting Modes Auto

Creative zone: Program, Shutter-speed priority, Aperture priority, Manual, Custom
Image zone: Portrait, Landscape, Night scene, Fast shutter, Slow shutter, Special Scene (Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater, Indoor, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot), Stitch assist and Movie

One of these two modes is what you want.
The flash will fire to light the foreground and the shutter hangs open longer to exposet the background.
It is best if the subjects are cooperating and will hold still for the longer shutter.
Give it a try and let me know how it works.

Mikeeee

I will have to try the second one b/c I have used night scene and it doesn't help.
Thanks!

 

[DisneyJen0504]

Welcome to the world of photography.
It is not a "camera problem" nor is it "operator error."
Remember if the background is 100 feet away and the subject(family) is 10 feet away, it is obvious that the flash could not illuminate them both evenly.

IF you want the background exposed properly you must set exposure settings for the background(since it is farther and out of flashes range), and then fill in the persons standing in front of it with the flash.

If I lost you try this next time.
1. take a picture of the background in question(no family yet).
2. Read the settings that the camera took those pictures with(shutter/aperture/ISO).
3. switch camera to Manual mode and apply those settings.
4. Now pop up the flash and move your family in, TAKE THE PICTURE.

Thanks for the help! I guess I will have to give that a try.

Here's the thing. While every picture isn't going to be perfect, my family and friends do not have this problem with their digital cameras, and I know for a fact they are not fiddling with modes, settings and such. Most of them are point and shoot people!
For example, my sister took the same photo of my dh, dad and brother above, but with her camera-which is a less expensive Kodak easyshare. She just used auto which chose to use it's flash. Her picture has the clear background AND clear subjects.
So it seems to be that it could be a camera issue. Not that there is a defect with it, believe me I have had it checked! I guess I need to do more research before I purchase the next one. This camera takes a long time to actually take pictures and takes poor lowlight, night time and fast moving pictures even when I use the proper modes.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Yellow_Stitch]

Try that night snapshot mode and see if you can use a mini (4-5 inch) tripod on a table or railing or anything handy to avoid shake. It's pretty hard to use it handheld since the shutter stays open a long time to expose for the lighted background. The nice thing about Disney is that (as Willcad has pointed out before) there's a trashcan almost anywhere you look, and they're just the right height. I used one for this shot. (And the self-timer)

 

[Greg K.]

Nice shot, Yellow Stitch! And I really like the mark left by your (missing) wristwatch

Really, that is a great vacation snapshot. Disney never lacks for interesting backgrounds -- and a little imagination (trash can, anyone?) can accomplish a lot.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

okay, everybody already beat me to the punch.

I also have the A95, love it very much. Night Snapshot is a simple way to do it (it automatically boost the ISO higher (so it captures the background) AND have the flash on (to capture the foregrouned) AND maintaining fairly high shutter speed so you can use it WITHOUT a tripod.

There is NOTHING wrong about this camera. I've taken (and even SOLD) pictures with the camera. Even to this date, this is the ONLY camera I use when I don't have my dSLR.

Please don't compare this camera to Kodak, there is just no comparison. There are so many things wrong with the general Kodak point and shoot I won't even go there. Don't get me wrong, there a lot of positive merits of Kodak such as looking nice, stylish, easy to use, but taking high quality picture is not one of its positive traits.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

okay, everybody already beat me to the punch.

I also have the A95, love it very much. Night Snapshot is a simple way to do it (it automatically boost the ISO higher (so it captures the background) AND have the flash on (to capture the foregrouned) AND maintaining fairly high shutter speed so you can use it WITHOUT a tripod.

There is NOTHING wrong about this camera. I've taken (and even SOLD) pictures with the camera. Even to this date, this is the ONLY camera I use when I don't have my dSLR.

Please don't compare this camera to Kodak, there is just no comparison. There are so many things wrong with the general Kodak point and shoot I won't even go there. Don't get me wrong, there a lot of positive merits of Kodak such as looking nice, stylish, easy to use, but taking high quality picture is not one of its positive traits.

I will have to try the night snapshot for outdoors. Thanks!
I will say some photos taken with this camera have been amazing...but they are honestly not many. I don't pretend to be a great photographer, but my photos with other cameras usually come out better than when taken with the A95.
Here are my issues with this camera-does anyone else NOT have these problems?
-slow to actually snap the photo when using flash. People actually joke about how you have to keep smiling for 5 minutes when my camera is taking a picture!
-Forbid there is any movement (such as an animal or sport) in the shot and it takes so long to shoot, the subject is long gone before my camera even flashes.
-bad night photos-my old 35mm camera from a few years ago took better night pics. But, hopefully the suggestions here will work!
-Poor low light pics. If the flash isn't being used, subjects are unclear and often grainy.

I wasn't comparing this camera to Kodak, just simply saying "even" the Kodak pics came out better than mine. You must have a better A95! Just kidding. Overall, I have not been happy with this camera for some time for many reasons and will research more thoroughly for something more suitable for me when the time comes to get a new digital camera.
Thanks everyone!

 

[Kelly Grannell]

-slow to actually snap the photo when using flash. People actually joke about how you have to keep smiling for 5 minutes when my camera is taking a picture!

I personally never have this problem

-Forbid there is any movement (such as an animal or sport) in the shot and it takes so long to shoot, the subject is long gone before my camera even flashes.

there is Sports mode, try using that.

-bad night photos-my old 35mm camera from a few years ago took better night pics. But, hopefully the suggestions here will work!

35mm at a same price range for point and shoot WILL yield a better result than digital, in general. Note that the "sensor" of a 35mm is larger then two thumbnails placed next to each other, the sensor for digital P&S is about the size of you smallest toe nail. The larger the sensor area, the better the picture will be (hence and dSLR is better than P&S. and a P&S with larger sensor size will be better in perfomance than a P&S with smaller sensor size)

-Poor low light pics. If the flash isn't being used, subjects are unclear and often grainy.

When the light is low, the ISO is bumped up to ISO 400. Just like film camera, the higher the ISO the grainy it's going to be, that's mostly physics of light, not camera problem per-se. I would strongly recommend Canon A700 if you want far less grainy ISO 400. Even at ISO 800 it's cleaner than A95's ISO 400.

You must have a better A95! Just kidding.

LOL! Just FYI, although you did get the A95 about a year ago, the camera was released in mid 2004 and using the same chip and technology from a camera released in mid 2003 - the A80 - which I also owned and loved - hence the replacement to A95.

When I get the chance, I will post some ISO 400 pictures I took using the A95. Let me know whether it's as grainy as the pics you get. You MAY have a defective A95.

CHEERS,
Kelly

 

[Kelly Grannell]

here are a couple of samples of ISO 400 from my A95

 

[Greg K.]

FWIW: People rave about the A610 & 620, which are the next generation after the A95, but are equipped with a more advanced processor, one that is said to be very fast. Dunno if that will help your lag or not when it comes to shooting snaps. They're going for a little over $200 right now (rumor has it that Canon is about to unveil the next generation in the A-line, probably in August, so they want to clear these off the shelves.)

From my experience with the A95, and what I've read about it on the web, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything smaller, simpler or cheaper that takes pictures as well. It really sets the standard -- and often matches or exceeds some of the pictures taken with a DSLR. Like a lot of cameras in its class, it works best outdoors in bright light, but with a little experimentation and fiddling, it can take remarkable pictures in challenging situations, too. What Kelly and others have said is true: sometimes AUTO doesn't do the job you need and you just gotta spin that dial around and try other settings to see what works best under different circumstances.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.
Kelly-your pics are so clear! I have never seen my cam take pics like that-I will definitely adjust the settings to see what kind of results I can get!
Thanks again! I'll keep you posted how my future pics turn out!

 

[TheBellhop]

Just reading the manual should take care of quite alot of your problems. I recently got the a530 and love it to death. The (advanced) manual can be a bit intimidating, but really, just experiment and experiment. It helps alot!